Santiago – Experts believe that strict building codes played a pivotal role in keeping the death toll low in Chile following a 8.2-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, followed by a 7.6-magnitude late Wednesday.
So far, there have been only six deaths from the latest massive earthquake, reports CNN, which experts are calling a remarkably low death toll. They credit Chile’s strict building codes and rigorous emergency preparedness plans, which it has been implementing over the years as a result of being located in one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world.
John Bellini, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, told CNN that the importance of strict building codes is underscored when one compares the February 2010 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile that killed 500 people with the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti one month earlier that killed at least 230,000 people and levelled 70 per cent of the capital city’s structures.
“That’s actually a perfect example of the differences in building codes and enforcement in two different regions,” he said. “Any place that has a magnitude 7 or an 8 is going to have some kind of damage… but the building codes are really what can save lives in areas that have large earthquakes.” A 2011 UN report also credited Chile’s strict building codes with playing a large part in protecting people.
Picture credit: Claudio Núñez/Creative Commons
